


developement

by peeira



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Liara and Shepard appear briefly, and also Wrex, merweek2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peeira/pseuds/peeira
Summary: Ashley doesn’t seem fazed that a Quarian is currently running for her life, needing to be saved by the Commander. After all, if they spend pretty much all of their lives inside their ships, it’s no wonder Quarians aren’t good at defending themselves.She’s quick to eat her words.
Relationships: Ashley Williams/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	developement

Ashley doesn’t seem fazed that a Quarian is currently running for her life, needing to be saved by the Commander. After all, if they spend pretty much all of their lives inside their ships, it’s no wonder Quarians aren’t good at defending themselves.

*

She’s quick to eat her words when she sees Tali wielding a shotgun.

The Quarian doesn’t flinch when she aims at the raging Krogan Battlemaster, doesn’t recoil when she pulls the trigger and doesn’t even blink (well, as far as she can tell) when he charges at her. Obviously she has had some battle experience, but Ashley still doubts it had anything to do with the Flotilla.

Still, pretty impressive.

*

Tali is the first one to run after Liara following the mission on Noveria.

Ashley thinks it’s kind of ironic that she didn’t trust Liara at first due to her family connection with Benezia. She herself is a Williams, constantly shunned by every soldier because of her grandfather’s actions; she should have known better. Maybe she should... go talk to her and ask her how she feels? Say something cheesy like _I’m here for you_ or something? Not that she’s ever been good with feelings. ~~That's what poetry is for.~~

Ashley makes her way towards the lab, passing through Dr. Chakwas on the way.

The door opens, and she is greeted with the sight of Liara sitting down on the floor, with Tali comforting her. Neither of them seem to notice Ashley yet – or maybe they have, and are just ignoring her.

Ashley leans against the door with a small thud.

Liara gasps at the sudden noise, and stands up abruptly. “Ashley?” she rubs her eyes, clearly taken aback. “I apologize, I didn’t see you there.” Tali moves to Liara’s side and crosses her arms, eyeing Ashley intently.

Ashley scratches the back of her head. “Yes, I...” she hesitates. This was SO much easier in her head. “If you ever want to talk about Benezia, I’m here.”

Liara blinks at her. “I see,” she fidgets with her hands, then offers her a small smile. “Thank you, Ashley.”

“To have people judge you based on your family history? I know what that’s like,” Ashley offers, and the Quarian appears to relax slightly.

Liara nods. “Yes, I... read the reports about what happened on Shanxi,” she says. “Your grandfather did what he thought was necessary at the time. Your family should not pay for it.”

Ashley perks up slightly. She knows it’s true, but still, it feels damn good to hear someone else other than the Commander say it. “Thanks, Liara.”

“No problem,” she replies. She turns to face Tali. “I’m fine, really. Like I told the Commander, I chose to remember Benezia for the great mother she used to be, before being indoctrinated by Saren.”

Ashley can tell she wants to be alone, and so does Tali. “Alright, Liara,” she concedes. “We can talk later.”

The three exchange a goodbye, then Ashley makes way towards the elevator, with Tali next to her.

“Thanks for talking to her.” Tali says, pressing the button.

Ashley nods. “Don’t mention it.”

*

One of the indoctrinated colonists lunges at them, and Ashley doesn’t hesitate to stand between him and Tali.

Or rather, between him AND her squad, not just Tali.

Because it’s not like the Quarian is constantly in her thoughts or anything. Absolutely not.

Shepard throws the last grenade, and the remaining colonists are all knocked unconscious. “That’s the last of them,” she states.

“Great work, ma’am.” Ashley says. She watches as Tali moves ahead to examine some of the colonists, scanning them with her omni-tool. She feels a soft tap on her shoulder, and turns to see Shepard grinning widely at her.

“Something on your mind, Ash?”

Ashley feels her cheeks grow warm. “Now is not the time, ma’am.”

“Uh-huh,” says Shepard amusedly. “After the mission, then?”

Ashley glances away, ignoring how Tali is now walking towards them. “The, uh, Thorian’s just up ahead. We should move out.”

Shepard lets out a small laugh. “Right. Let’s go.”

This is nothing like Shepard courting Liara, Ashley tells herself. She is only paying this much attention because she cares about her squad members. That’s all.

It’s not like she’s falling for Tali or anything.

*

Ashley is cleaning one of her rifles when she hears a commotion near the elevator. Garrus doesn’t seem to care, as he is too busy focusing on the Mako, and Wrex is still busy cleaning his family armour.

She puts her gun down and makes her way towards the familiar voices. She sees Shepard happily chatting with Tali, who can’t seem to stop jumping on her feet.

“This is great, Shepard!” the Quarian beams, firmly holding onto a datapad. “With this I can finally finish my Pilgrimage! Thank you so much!”

Pilgrimage?

Oh. She’s leaving.

Well... of course she is. And so is Ashley, when this is all over.

So why does she care?

Tali turns on her heels and goes back to engineering, while Shepard heads for the garage, almost bumping into Ashley on the way.

Shepard smirks and raises her eyebrows. She opens her mouth, but Ashley quickly cuts her off. “Ma’am,” she says, and walks to the elevator.

*

Tali’s there for her when she mourns Kaidan.

Ashley should have been the one to die, she should have been the one to stay with the bomb and hold the geth back. Shepard reassures her, saying she would never have made it in time, and that Kaidan would never blame her (Ashley knows she means well, that she speaks the truth, but it still hurts).

Ashley sits on the floor with her legs folded up against her chest, resting her chin on top of her knees. Tali sits next to her. She doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t have to - and honestly, Ashley is grateful for that.

Tali reaches a hand out to her, and Ashley steadily takes it.

*

It will still take some time to reach Ilos, and Ashley makes up her mind. She needs to talk to Tali. Rather, she **wants** to talk to Tali.

If this truly is their last mission together, then she can’t ignore her feelings anymore, it doesn’t matter if they are reciprocated or not.

Determined, she heads towards engineering, and is surprised when she sees Tali approaching her near the elevator.

“Ashley, can we talk?” she asks in a nervous tone.

Ashley glances around. There doesn’t seem to be anyone nearby – Wrex and Garrus are still in the garage, while Adams went to meet with Dr. Chakwas. “Go ahead.”

Tali nervously shifts from foot to foot. “It’s just t-that...” she stammers. “For a while I have...” she shakes her head. “I have been watching you for a really long time now!” she blurts out. Ashley opens her mouth, but Tali raises her hands up in the air. “I mean, not in a creepy way! Ugh!” she presses a hand against her helmet and sighs. “Sorry, I’m not good at things like this.”

Ashley stares at Tali with wide eyes as the _realization_ of what she just said finally hits. She has... no idea how to react. Because she never expected Tali to like her back.

It’s not like people haven’t had crushes on her before, it’s not like _she_ hasn’t had crushes on other people before. It’s not even because Tali isn’t human. It’ because she never truly LIKED someone the same way she likes Tali. ~~Love is the better word to describe how she feels, but Ashley can’t say it out loud yet without turning beet red.~~

The Quarian stiffens, and Ashley opens her mouth again to say something but instead she lets out a small laugh. “You too, huh?”

Tali blinks. “ _You too_?” she echoes. “Then... you also...”

Ashley nods. “I was actually on my way to engineering to talk to you about it, but you got here first.”

Tali perks up, tugging at her suit. “When I first saw you I thought... you were really strong. And beautiful, too.” Even if she is wearing a helmet, Ashley can tell she is blushing. “I never thought you’d feel the same.”

Ashley lets out a small chuckle. “When I first saw you, I thought you couldn’t hold your own in a fight.”

“Wow,” Tali says sarcastically. “And have you changed your mind yet?”

Ashley grins. “Do you even need to ask?”

Tali folds her hands in front of her, and Ashley can tell something else is weighting on her mind. “I’m not sure if you know this, but,” Tali begins. “Quarians can get sick really easily. For us to be... together with someone else is very dangerious. I really like you, Ashley, I’m not sure if I’m ready for-”

“Tali,” Ashley softly interrupts, taking both of Tali’s hands on her own. “I would never want you to be uncomfortable around me.”

Tali rests her head on Ashley’s shoulder. “That would never happen,” she says, and wraps her arms around Ashley’s waist. “Right now, this is more than enough for me.”

Ashley barely notices movement in the corner of her eye, until Wrex is in front of them, stomping towards the elevator. “Don’t mind me. Just hungry,” he says casually. The two women quickly lean away from one another. He enters and the doors click shut.

Tali and Ashley lock eyes, then start laughing. “Tell you what,” Ashley says, and leans forward to press a kiss to Tali’s helmet. “After we’re done with Saren we can talk better about this.”

Tali fondly strokes through Ashley’s hair. “Sounds perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [Mass Effect Relationships week](https://cactuarkitty.tumblr.com/post/618430494558781440/announcing-the-forth-annual-mass-effect) on tumblr! I hope you like this!!!!!! :) I haven't written in a while, and this event seemed like the perfect time to pick it up again.
> 
> This fic is set during ME1! In the order I usually do things: Therum > Noveria > Feros > Vermire > Ilos


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